Naming children after dead sibling.

[Joney]

Yes, re-use of names is both common and confusing for us all.

However, just to clarify, no church or vicar would baptise the same child twice. A child would be baptised at home if considered to be in danger of death  and there was doubt about how long it would survive.
 Once the cause for concern was over, the child was taken to church 'for the ceremonies', ie. the usual  additional prayers etc which did not take place in the child's home because of the need for haste.

The 'second' baptism should have a note made in the margin of the register which reads 'brought the church for the ceremonies'. I have come across then in both C of E and Catholic registers.

Of course a second baptism could take sometimes  place in another church if the parents  were of different religious denominations,  but that's another story !

Joney

[pinefamily]

I have also seen the home baptisms you mention listed in the registers as "private baptism".

[Joney]

Yes, or a note made 'baptised privately'.

[chrish53]

In one of my family branches not only the same first name is used, but the same middle name! My GG grandfather Basil and his wife Susan named two children Elizabeth and used the same middle name Adnett. As they were both born within 3 years of each other I was most confused until I found the death record for the first which occured while Susan was pregnant with the second.
 

[jbml]

Mind you, I guess the number of names to choose from was smaller, with no Dweezle's or Apple Blossom"s! I feel for the genealogists of the future.

True ... but they had plenty of names in use then which have fallen out of favour now. I have an ancestor called Nebuchadnezzar ... but I doubt we'll see any more of them in the family line!!

As for feeling for future genealogists ... why?? Surely it's the singular names that help us to follow the correct line with confidence, no matter where it leads us!

2011 census, 1 Acacia Avenue, Smalltown, Wiltshire

Joshua Smith, born 1985
Claire Nicolson, born 1986
Dwight Nicolson-Smith, born 2003
Pixie Nicholson-Smith, born 2005
Rory Beckham Nicholson-Smith, born 2008
Alicia-May Nicholson-Smith, born 2011


2021 census, 3 Gosport Road, Southampton

Joshua Smith, born 1985
Helen Smith, wife, born 1990
Pixie Nicholson-Smith, born 2005
Hannah Johnson, born 2005
Mimi Johnson, born 2009
Fergus Smith, born 2012
Louloubelle Smith, born 2014


2021 Census, 22 Edgbaston Way, Tamworth

Finnigan Bruce, born 1989
Claire Nicholson, born 1986
Rory Nicholson-Smith, born 2008
Tansy Bruce, born 2009
Alicia-May Nicholson-Smith, born 2011
Jeffers Nicholson, born 2014
Barbarella Nicholson-Lloyd, born 2016
Abelard Nicholson-Bruce, born 2019


2021 Census, Central Halls or Residence, University of Nowhereinparticular

Dwight Nicholson-Smith, born 2003


I mean, come on! How difficult is it to follow what has happened in this family from these entries??? You don't even need to double-check the occupations (which probably differ on an annual basis anyway!!)

[pinefamily]

Just one example of why I feel for the genealogists of the future is in the censuses where in years to come they will try and find out more information about the Church of the Holy Jedi (apparently an alarming number of people put this down as their religion, tongue-in-cheek or otherwise). 

[weste]

Yes I've got several examples of being named after a dead sibling. I've got one now which i'm sorting out that our family went by the name of kate for her and there appears to be an Elizabeth whose known as kate by the other bit of the family.My ancestor took off from is family but managed to sort it name change and also but working on that last bit . I think there was an Elizabeth who died, the the next one they called Elizabeth but for some reason known as kate but no evidence of the kate bit on the records so far! This family sometimes named them after a sibling who was living as well, 2 Williams and 2 Charles!

[pinefamily]

I have two Richard Pyne's born to the same parents in the 17th century, both surviving to adulthood. They were called "the elder" and "the younger".

[stevew101]

In one family, I have found three children who were named "Jane".  The first, died at birth and the second, as an infant.  Thankfully the third survived.  I have a number of other instances where a child was named after a dead sibling.